We have somewhat settled into the new place. One of my favourites is the abundance of trees in this neighbourhood. Towering redwoods and other trees break up the horizon line. Much to my delight, there are quite a few deciduous trees, lately dressed in their flaming autumn colours. The Japanese Maple right outside my new atelier has transformed itself into a Lady In Red.
After a few foggy mornings, the day of Mercury transit dawned clear. The Sun was still coming up from behind the trees. I spent the morning outside, peering through the telescope with a camera attached to it and captured the tiny planet silhouetted against our home star.
The tiny black dot that looks more like a blemish is really a planet, so small compared to the star it revolves around. Sitting quietly and staring at a moving dot may not have been a grandiose event, but it certainly was a humbling one.
Clearing rain makes for such gorgeous skies. I ran outside with my camera, feet barely inside my shoes, to grab a few photos before the light faded away into the night.
After a splendid show of colours, almost all of the leaves have fallen off the trees. Sometimes things do change rather quickly.
When rain started, unable to sit inside and miss out on the fun, I decided to rake leaves in the rain. This walnut tree in our backyard is so high that the tree top was blurred by the wet air.
I collected a few leaves and acorns for my sketchbook.
Wondering how these will turn out when I finish.
This print of my Autumn Forest Walk went to a new home! I always get excited about shipping prints, and this is one of my favourites. She sent me a photo of the print hanging in her home which really made my day!
A bit of cool blue decided to sneak into my life as I prepared this print for an order.
Whitby, Yorkshire. We were heading out to grab some dinner, the sky and the water were so beautiful with a band of pink in the middle. Really love that a print of my very first oil painting has gone to a new home.
As Mother Nature lays the world to sleep so it can rest and recover, so must I also start my winter hiatus. Piles and piles of books all around me are waiting to board the bookshelves. While I lose myself in the world of ink, paper and paint, I wish you all a wonderful and magical holiday season.
You can still link up on this month’s Wandering Camera here.
See you in January!
-Soma
I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. Please pay a visit to some of them.
45 thoughts on “A Quiet World”
Susie February 12, 2020 at 08:05
Wow! These photos are stunning, Soma !! I so appreciate your patience and skills, that allow you to capture these beautiful moments in time!
Thank you for sharing them with us! xo
Lady Fi January 26, 2020 at 20:29
Wow! Beautiful bursts of orange. Superb shots.
Susan Mann January 14, 2020 at 04:47
What a lovely and happy post. Such gorgeous photos and some beautiful skies xx
Sallie (FullTime-Life) January 6, 2020 at 10:01
What a happy and beautiful post! I will try to remember to link up to the January wandering camera.
Cheryl Brickey December 26, 2019 at 16:35
Beautiful photography and I love, love my print! I get a lot of compliments on it and am happy to tell everyone that I know the artist.
Nikki = Notes of Life December 23, 2019 at 07:14
Wonderful colours!
Merry Christmas! :)
Tammie December 22, 2019 at 09:24
Lovely skies indeed!
And that tiny planet you captured, amazing!
Wishing you a wonderful hiatus. I think I may be doing that too.
Lovely holidays to you!
Anesha December 22, 2019 at 01:13
Love your photos. Great prints as well. love your ginger cat. Happy Christmas.
Jennifer Jilks December 21, 2019 at 16:42
Good luck settling in. I’m sure your helper is great moral support!
Aditya Mohanty December 21, 2019 at 00:04
Great shot .
Carol December 19, 2019 at 11:52
Your photos are gorgeous and such a pleasure to look at! I love your beautiful writings about them, too. Merry Christmas!
Alan B Bates December 18, 2019 at 19:45
Such a great post. You are a very good and sensitive artist.
Dixie December 18, 2019 at 16:29
Absolutely amazing photos, Soma!
My, your trees are still so pretty. Wow… They are tall.
Your new place sounds and looks so nice. Kitty looks so comfy too.
Ah a mountain of books. How wonderful! I like your TV companion. ;)
Happy painting!
Sue December 17, 2019 at 13:44
Lovely photos, prints and paintings, I hope you are very happy in your new home. Have a wonderful break and enjoy Christmas and the New Year.
Photo Cache December 16, 2019 at 22:20
Beautiful photography. Who is that cute orange delight lounging happily?
Happy Holidays!
Lady Fi December 16, 2019 at 21:50
Wow – such beautiful shots! Enjoy the festive season and your rest!
Andrée G Faubert December 16, 2019 at 17:25
Hi Soma, I always love your images. Good luck with settling into your new home. I hope you have a great holiday time. See you in January!
Anesha December 16, 2019 at 09:35
Love your photos and your paintings. The start of the show is your beautiful ginger kitty!
Angie December 16, 2019 at 07:54
Soma – glorious photos and paintings. I am so pleased for you that you are receiving orders for your work! I am looking outside at the light playing on our snow-clad hills. The sun is behind one hill, silhouetting the pine trees to look like sentinels on a ridge. Oh, how the imagination runs wild. Enjoy the rest of your December!
Tammie Dickerson December 15, 2019 at 20:55
Oh I love your photos! The sunset and planet are my favorites! Love the color in those rolling clouds! Happy PPF and a magical holiday season to you!
Susan Mann December 15, 2019 at 11:38
What wonderful and magnificent photos. These look amazing. The Mercury in transit is stunning xx
Janine @ Rainbow Hare December 15, 2019 at 08:08
I’m glad you are all settling in to your new home. Your trees are very beautiful and I’m sure you will enjoy them throughout the seasons :) xxx
A ShutterBug Explores December 14, 2019 at 10:51
Oh, your kitty photo is so precious and gorgeous sky shots and lovely artwork ~ all amongst the ‘moving’ ~ wow!
Happy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
NatureFootstep PhotoArt December 14, 2019 at 08:38
how nice, I love trees. You can do so much with trees both photographing and painting as well as just enjoying them. :)
My favourite is the Mercury transit :) It is a great shot. I know as I was both a stargazer and a birder :)
If you don´t mind….can I use it to try a painting?? I have an unused squared small black canvas. :)
Please respond to my blog, not the given email from the system.
Sandra Walker December 13, 2019 at 17:19
We have towering black walnut trees here too. I have mixed feelings about them as they are toxic to most plants and tend to be a messy tree. But a tree is a tree… Glad you are settling in, love seeing Hagrid on the TV, books upon books and (egad his name escapes me) ginger cat on his pouffé :-)
Linda Kunsman December 13, 2019 at 17:05
Oh wow- such a gorgeous post! I love the Japanese maple trees with their glorious red leaves. Your capture of Mercury is awesome!!! Both of your paintings are so beautiful- truly capturing nature as well as in your photos. Darling kitty is so peaceful:) Happy PPF!
Linda Calverley December 13, 2019 at 12:03
Fantastic photos, the colours are amazing.
Rain Frances December 13, 2019 at 09:09
Hi Soma :) Your cat looks so cozy on that pillow! :) All of your pieces today are brilliant, I love your walnut tree and omg Mercury…you have a great eye my friend!!! :)
Nicole/DVAtist December 13, 2019 at 07:39
A really beautiful post.
Susan December 13, 2019 at 07:30
I collect leaves every Fall too. When I was a kid, my mom would preserve them by pressing them between two pieces of wax paper. I am still trying to figure out how she did that without gunking up her iron. I press flowers and leaves between pages of an old phone book. Your photos are “out of this world” beautiful. We have LOTS of books too. May you and yours have a wonderful Christmas.
Jennifer Jilks December 13, 2019 at 06:00
Lovely1!!
riitta k December 13, 2019 at 03:18
Your photos are extremely beautiful Soma. Books are lovely but they keep us busy dusting & arranging. Wishing you good energy for the job and great holiday season.
Elke December 13, 2019 at 02:28
what beautiful photos and paintings and drawings. You have a lot of books with a cute cat!!!
Wonderful your posting!!!
Nice Day
Elke
Kathleen Noble December 13, 2019 at 00:51
Lovely photos, and sketching subjects. Wishing you and yours wonderful holidays and a fulfilling new year.
BLOGitse December 12, 2019 at 23:55
Well done!
Enjoy your ‘homework’…
Happy Holidays!
Christine December 12, 2019 at 23:13
Your work and photos are amazing
Mascha December 12, 2019 at 22:27
Looks like a famous place, where you live and I’ve very enjoyed your photos. I like your artwork and the sweet kitty in the last, piles and piles of books – how well I know this!
Have a wonderful Christmas time :)
Tammy S Asad December 12, 2019 at 22:17
Beautiful artwork and photos. I’m always skywatching and having any sort of plants or trees to view certainly brings a sense of connection. Happy holidays to you.
ulrikes smaating December 12, 2019 at 17:50
Hej Soma,
wonderful pictures and paintings :0) the photo of mercury is really great! the cat enjoys the new home… good wishes from denmark, ulrike :0)
Kim December 12, 2019 at 14:00
Autumn leaves always thrill me. I love their varied shapes and colours. As for feeling humbled when one looks at the night sky, I know exactly what you mean. One feels very small when standing beneath the theatre of the night sky. I am so happy that your prints are taking off. You must feel much pleasure when you ship one of your prints to a new home, where each one will be enjoyed for a very long time. Love the sweet photo of your kitty and as for all those books….how pleasurable to stack them in the ‘library’ shelves and revisit each one as you do. May your holiday season be overspilling with magic, too, Soma.
Mary December 12, 2019 at 12:34
I’m so happy that you have such a “mature” neighborhood. I love seeing the big trees and the view from you room looks spectacular. The skies have been so stunning with the storms. You capture it so beautifully. My photos do not do it justice so I will simply capture it in my memory.
Do you get walnuts from your tree? That would be awesome. Growing up, we lived in a walnut grove. When my siblings would get testy with each other we would have to crack a milk bottle full of walnuts TOGETHER!
Have a wonderful Christmas.
BillieBee December 12, 2019 at 11:28
Love all the lovely photos, drawings, painting, but you kitty is stilling the show. Are those fat pencils next to your drawing watercolors?
Kris December 12, 2019 at 08:45
Glad to see you have been enjoying your new space. Gorgeous picture, wow that planet looks so small in comparison-really puts it in perspective. Hope your time off is relaxing :)
Shasta December 12, 2019 at 06:17
Beautiful photos, Soma! Congrats on the sale. That last picture with the books looks very cozy!
Michelle December 11, 2019 at 23:26
I thoroughly enjoyed your description of your new home. And the photo of Mercury in transit is amazing. (When I was a little girl, I wanted to be an astronomer for awhile.) Your kitty looks right at home.
Michelle